The Mission: Impossible films have spun thirty years and eight films but there is truly only one Tom Cruise at the centre of every single mission (should he choose to accept it, and he seemingly always does). Whether or not Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is the final instalment in this saga remains to be seen, although the film itself certainly presents itself as a victory lap finale for the adventures of Ethan Hunt and the IMF.

The Final Reckoning is a film of gargantuan scale, featuring a world at the brink of collapse as the mysterious and menacing AI known as the Entity takes total control. The stakes are raised higher than ever before, and the chances of stopping the Entity before it destroys the world as we know it are slim to none. But this is Mission: Impossible, not Mission: Difficult, so Ethan Hunt brings together his trusted team of Luther (Ving Rhames), Benji (Simon Pegg), Grace (Hayley Atwell), Paris (Pom Klementieff) and Degas (Greg Tarzan Davis) to stop the Entity once and for all. What follows is a series of incredible stunt work, globe-trotting adventure and a ticking clock building to the end…

The opening act gets bogged down in some long-winded exposition (and the occasional bit of choppy editing to keep the pace up), leaving the action sequences to only really kick in during the second act (although it must be said that the film doesn’t let up after that point). Perhaps at one stage in the film’s development (probably when it was still titled Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two), there would have been more confidence to jump straight into the story and hit the ground running, but the disappointing box office return of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One has seemingly led the filmmakers to add these exposition dumps to familiarise audiences who didn’t see the last film or have forgotten the plot in the past two years. Strangely enough, it’s not entirely dissimilar to the structure of the last instalment, even if it does make this second part feel a bit bloated overall (even with some snappy editing to quicken the pace).

However, once it gets going, The Final Reckoning delivers where it counts. A submarine sequence in the second act sees the pacing slow down for one of the most intense set-pieces in the franchise (think the underwater sequence in Rogue Nation, but bigger), while the biplane sequence showcased in the trailers and posters is even more spectacular in full, delivering the kind of pulse-pounding action that bests almost every other Hollywood action movie right now. It would be easy to think that after eight films, the creative team might be running out ideas, yet these show-stopping sequences prove otherwise.

It’s in these sequences (as well the Entity’s surreal ‘visions’) that the IMAX presentation really kicks into gear. Captured with IMAX-certified digital cameras, these heart-stopping scenes become even more immersive with IMAX’s expanded aspect ratio and precision audio, featuring a custom sound mix developed specifically for IMAX cinemas. Over 45 minutes of the film is presented in the full 1.90:1 IMAX exclusive aspect ratio, opening up the frame for a fully immersive experience — and what better way to enjoy another action and stunt spectacular with Tom Cruise?

Cruise himself is on fine form as ever as Ethan Hunt, proving his status as a titan in Hollywood action movies whilst also delivering on the emotional beats. The constant reminders of Hunt’s heroism sometimes feels like the screenplay stroking Cruise’s ego, although it’s nice to see the sort of earnest heroism that other blockbusters hide behind snarky humour. It’s always great to see franchise mainstays Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg, while Hayley Atwell already feels like an integral member of the IMF family (despite only being introduced in the last film). Greg Tarzan Davis joins the team this time as Degas, although even with a couple of action moments, he doesn’t have too much to do. The film’s MVP is most definitely Pom Klementieff as assassin-turned-IMF-agent Paris, delivering a cool, stoic performance that lights up the screen. The fact that she has very few lines (almost all of which are in French) and still manages to be a comic highlight is an indication that Klementieff deserves to be the lead of an action franchise herself.

Henry Czerny is as slimy as ever as Kittridge, Shea Whigham gets an interesting storyline as Briggs, and there are also a whole host of famous faces in the supporting cast, including a returning Angela Bassett as Erika Sloane (formerly director of the CIA, now President of the USA), Holt McCallany, Janet McTeer, Nick Offerman, Charles Parnell, Hannah Waddingham, Tramell Tillman, Katy O’Brian and Mark Gatiss. Esai Morales returns as villain Gabriel, and while he’s given interesting motivations, the character ends up coming across as a fairly generic, cackling bad guy. The film series isn’t known for having the best villains, but it’s difficult not to wish that the character was slightly more engaging. Perhaps the most surprising inclusion is Rolf Saxon as Donloe, the CIA analyst Ethan Hunt had to deal with in the Langley heist in the very first Mission: Impossible film.

The Final Reckoning is definitely the most fan service-oriented chapter in the series. The story attempts to coalesce various disparate story threads from the mostly standalone previous entries in the Mission: Impossible franchise in a way that could easily come across as ham-fisted and contrived, yet manages to just about hold up. It’s definitely worth revisiting the first film and Mission: Impossible III alongside Dead Reckoning Part One before seeing this final film.

All in all, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is overambitious and a little unwieldy, but it does deliver where it counts, especially in the latter two thirds. It’s less fun (and funny) than Dead Reckoning Part One, occasionally coming across as too sombre and self-serious for its own good, although there are nice moments of levity sprinkled throughout. The ensemble cast are on fine form, the action really delivers, the stakes are through the roof and the score (by new composers Max Aruj and Alfie Godfrey, taking over from Lorne Balfe) is suitably bombastic. If this is the final Mission: Impossible film, it may not be the strongest entry to go out on, but it is a mostly satisfying conclusion — and well worth seeing on a big IMAX screen.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is out in IMAX and UK and Irish cinemas on 21 May

Thinking of catching up with a M:I Movie Marathon? before seeing it at the cinema? Head here for our review of an option, available to own now!